Animagus
Overview Animagus is the transformation of a human into an animal form. As opposed to ordinary transfiguration, the process of animagi allows the magical being to be able to retain their human brain in the animal form and is therefore a highly advanced form of magic. More precisely, an Animagus is a witch or wizard who has the ability to transfigure herself/himself into an animal at will while retaining her/his mental powers, such as the ability to think as a human. Animagi can only take on the form of one specific animal. This animal form is not chosen by the wizard, but determined by their personality and inner traits. Thus, one's animagus form is a reflection of one's inner nature. Only very powerful and skilled wizards are able to become Animagi. The process of becoming an Animagus is long and arduous, and has the potential to backfire and cause the transformation to go horribly wrong. Once the initial training is over, an Animagus can change at will at any time, with or without a wand. An Animagus' physical condition as an animal reflects his or her physical condition in human shape. So if a human form has begun to miss limbs, then the animagus form will also begin to show the condition. An Animagus retains his or her clothing, spectacles, and so on throughout the transformation, disappearing when the Animagus is in animal shape but reappearing when human shape is resumed. An Animagus appears to have some ability to communicate with animals, although it is not known whether an Animagus must be in Animagus form to do so. The Improper Use of Magic Office maintains a register of all known Animagi. In the books this has been referred to only as "the register"; its formal name is unknown.The register is a requirement for all wizards and witches currently attempting to go through the animagus process however there have, in history, been members of the magical community that have gone under the radar and have become unregistered Animagi. There are penalties for being an Animagus and failing to register with the Improper Use of Magic Office. The penalty for failing to register as an Animagus is a sentence in Azkaban for a prescribed period of time History Whilst there is no record as to the first animagi in history, the register began with the implementation of the Ministry of Magic although history does suggest that the ability to transform happened before the 1700's. Through history, there have only been a rare amount of people that have been known or unknown animagi, during the Modern Age, only five were registered to the Ministry which is a matter of public record. To this date, there is no definite answer how many people are Animagi. One of the largest components and differences of being an animagus rather then using transformation is the use of wandless magic and the transformation process can be done without any wand in sight, specifically noted in history for the escape of Sirius Black from Azkaban. The reversal of a transformation is also wandless and reverts the animagi into their original state before the tranformation. There is a reversal spell that can be used to force an Animagi out of their Animagus form. However the current spell is unknown to those outside of animagi and the Ministry officials that are sent to deal with such matters. Characters With Ability Current: *Forest Montgomery *Grace Devon *Harri Hofmann (unregistered) *Keiley McDanford *Makendra Cross *Rianion Welch Past/Deceased: *Brianna Wolfe *Adam Turner See Also * OMA Animagus Registry Category:OMApedia A to Z Category:Magic Category:Magical Abilities